Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to entertainment platforms and, more specifically, to a system and method for providing a physical indication of an objective met in an entertainment platform.
Description of the Related Art
During the last few decades, entertainment platforms for online virtual games have greatly increased in popularity. The range of available online virtual games ranges from board games such as chess and checkers to war/battle simulation games to childcare-type games. Online virtual games are popular because, among other reasons, online virtual games provide players challenges and entertainment for hours while requiring relatively little real-world equipment. Also, online virtual games provide an activity in which one can engage when friends or family are not around.
Typically, online virtual games require players to achieve one or more objectives during the course of the game, and the success of a particular player is then measured by how many of those objectives the player can meet during the game. For example, a battle/war online virtual game may require a player to kill a certain number of opponents and/or to bomb a certain number of targets in order to meet an objective. Other online virtual games may implement multiple levels, where a player who is successful at meeting the objectives presented in a particular level of the game would be promoted to the second level of the game, where the player would be presented with different objectives. After meeting an objective, the player is typically informed that the player has met an objective. Oftentimes, this information is provided on the screen.
As is fairly well-known, many online virtual games present virtual achievement ornaments that are tied to particular objectives in the games to the players of the games. For example, a pirate-type online virtual game may be structured to present a virtual representation of a sword to a player when he/she achieves a certain level of notoriety in the game. One drawback to presenting players with virtual achievement ornaments is that there is no physical permanence to such ornaments. Therefore, a player in an online virtual game has no way to demonstrate outside the online virtual gaming environment that the player has met certain objectives in the game.
One drawback in online virtual gaming environments and online stores is that online virtual games do not share information with online stores that sell products representing the meeting of objectives in online virtual games. As such, a player in an online virtual game has no way to demonstrate outside the online virtual gaming environment that he/she has met the objectives in the game.
As the foregoing illustrates, what is needed in the art is a representation of an objective met in a virtual gaming environment that is not tied to a computer screen.